Article

Name: A Portrait of an Artist in Germany: Mstislav Dobuzhinsky and “Russian Berlin”. Part Two: “Aquilon” in Berlin

Authors: Andrei B. Ustinov

«Aquilon» Books & Publishing, San Francisco, USA

In the section Visual Arts: Plots and Fortunes

Abstract: This essay continues the publication “From Petrograd to Europe” in the series “Portrait of an Artist in Germany: Mstislav Dobuzhinsky and ‘Russian Berlin’,” published in the previous issue of “Studies in Theory of Literary Plot and Narratology.” This installment focuses on Dobuzhinsky’s publishing activities, specifically his books “Reminiscences of Italy” and “Petersburg in the Year Twenty One,” which appeared during the artist’s stay in Germany. The author discusses the émigré press’ reception of the books and albums published by the “Aquilon” publishing house in Petrograd, which was led by Fёdor Notgaft, a close friend of Dobuzhinsky and his confidant. In turn, as an art editor for “Aquilon” Dobuzhinsky developed the publishing program together with Notgaft. The author presents a variety of reviews of Dobuzhinsky’s “Reminiscences of Italy” from the newspapers of “Russian Berlin,” and demonstrates how the critics’ opinions varied depending on their chosen ideological platform. The author discusses the “grattography” technique used by Dobuzhinsky to illustrate the book. This graphic technique was invented by him and applied in “Reminiscences of Italy” for the first time. By the end of 1923, a few copies of Dobuzhinsky’s “Petersburg in the Year Twenty One” reached Berlin. This album was published by the Committee for the Promotion of Artistic Publications of the Russian Academy of the History of Material Culture with an introductory essay by Stepan Yaremich, an art scholar and Dobuzhinsky’s colleague at the “World of Art” society. Yaremich’s introduction presented Dobuzhinsky as an incomparable visionary, who mastered different art techniques, especially graphics. Ironically, Petr Shutiakov’s review of “Petersburg in the Year Twenty One,” appeared in the Berlin newspaper “Rudder” at exactly the same time as the official announcement about Petrograd to be renamed Leningrad.

Keywords: history of Russian emigration, history of Russian art of the 20th century, Russian Berlin, Russian artists in Germany, “Aquilon” Publishing, “Petersburg in the Year Twenty One,” Mstislav Dobuzhinsky, Fedor Notgaft, Stepan Yaremich, Vladislav Khodasevich

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